As my plane took off this morning, I looked out my window and I could see the beautiful, expanding city of Nashville.
An overwhelming thought came to me...
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This is not my normal blog post that discusses stretching benefits. This post is about stretching in a different way—out of your comfort zone.
I am writing this from my hotel room in Saudi Arabia. I’m here to attend my son’s graduation from King Abdullah University of Science and Tech, where he will receive his Master’s degree in marine biology and graduate with honors!
My journey started when my son, Collin, first announced that he had been accepted into this world-renowned program—the only problem was that it was far, far away on the Red Sea in Saudi Arabia.
He would not attend without us (his parents) giving him our “okay.” I remember falling to my knees in my kitchen with excitement, filled with so much pride in my amazing son.
BUT I ALSO HAD OVERWHELMING FEAR—FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN!
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Recently, I had a stretching student tell me the story of her knee surgery that she had about 10 years ago.
She suffered from knee pain, so she went to the doctor who told her that she had a torn meniscus and would need to have surgery to repair it.
She took the doctor’s orders and scheduled a date for surgery.
A few weeks passed before her surgery date and she noticed that her knee pain had already subsided. She thought she may not need surgery after all, but she went ahead with her doctor’s recommendation anyways.
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Did you know?
Our feet are made up of 26 bones, 33 joints and hundreds of muscles, ligaments & tendons—in each foot. These components allow for the complex movements needed for motion and balance.
Whoa… There is a lot going on down there!
It seems that most people forget about taking care of their feet until there is a problem. Maybe it’s because our feet are the furthest body part from our brain!
But if you have experienced foot pain, you know how awful and debilitating it can be. It stays with you and your brain every step you take!
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I have had so many people tell me that they don’t need to stretch because they do yoga.
I usually bite my tongue and say nothing in return, but my brain is saying, “YES YOU DO…YOU NEED TO STRETCH!”
Here’s why…
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When a new student experiences real deep tissue stretches for the first time, they either love it or hate it.
The lovers can’t get enough and usually have an “ah-ha” moment.
The haters usually retreat and are afraid of the discomfort for fear that they will have more pain and not less. If I can coach them to stay with it and continue until that discomfort has eased—and it will!—then I know they have done something very profound and amazing for their body.
They are now on track to reap the life changing benefits of STRETCHING!
Remember: It takes time to get tight—it takes time to get un-tight!
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My ultimate mission is to inspire everyone on the planet to stretch… that means you too, men! From my experience, men seem to be the hardest ones to convince of the benefits of regular Assisted Stretching, but they truly need it the most!
This is the honest truth: almost every woman who I have worked with in private sessions or classes always says to me, “My husband/son/boyfriend really, really needs to stretch. I wish I could get them to.”
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Why am I so passionate about Assisted Stretching?
You might be wondering that… what makes me so committed to the cause of sharing Assisted Stretching with the world?
It’s because I’ve personally experienced the miracle of Assisted Stretching.
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What if it really is that simple?
This question will not leave my brain!
It is on my mind all day and keeps me up at night; I’m constantly thinking about how many people that I have worked with who have told me their stories about how stretching has improved their quality of life, lifted their spirits, and given them hope for the future simply because they feel better.
I see it in their faces and feel their energy of deep joy and incredible gratitude.
They have experienced a miracle—and it is simply stretching!
So what if it is really that simple?
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On our last morning in Utah, I met a man who asked me what I was working on and what I did in Nashville. I told him that I am a stretching coach and was writing a blog post for my website.
He perked up with interest and told me that he and his wife had been horseback riding for three hours the day before and he was so sore that he could barely move. He said that his wife, who is an avid yoga student, wasn’t sore at all.
“She keeps telling me that I need to be stretching at least 5 minutes every day, but I never take the time. I should have stretched before and after I rode that horse!” he said.
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I love Major League Baseball and can’t stand to hear about a player who has suffered injuries and placed on the Injured Reserve List. My inner Stretching Coach immediately thinks that I can help get them back in the game.
When it comes to overuse and repetitive movement night after night, tight muscles just get tighter and stress on joints gets more intense until something gives—a tear, a break, a sprain, a fracture which leaves a player, a team and fans in big trouble. It can be disastrous to an entire season.
According to this article from Forbes, over the past 15 years, injured MLB has lost $7 billion in wages due to player injuries placing them on the disabled list.
The big question in the article asks, “Why does a non-contact sport like baseball suffer from this injury plague?”
The article answers this question with many reasons, but you know what my answer would be—these players need to STRETCH!
But it’s not just professional athletes who need to be regularly stretching—we all do!
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I ran into one of my fitness students last week whom I haven’t seen in quite a while.
She had been a big fan of my step class and rarely missed for several years. She told me that she hated not being in class, but her shoulder bothered her while doing arm movements in class so she was giving it a break.
I told her to give a regular stretching routine a try to help her shoulder be “back in action” soon.
Our upper body is just as active as our lower body all day and so those muscles are just as tight.
Learn 2 great upper body opener stretches using a chair!
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Are you someone who works in an office leaning into a computer screen all day? Or maybe your career has you traveling by car or plane regularly? You might even love to sit and binge-watch TV shows!
If you answered yes to any (or all) of the above, these stretches are for you!
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My family has always stretched each other out almost every night in the floor of our den. Since my boys were little, I would always stretch them out. It was a way of life for us as we all were very active.
Partner Stretching is SO beneficial because you are able to move through a range of motion with ease to open up really tight muscle tissue with assistance and not straining!
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It takes time to get “tight”… it also takes time to get “un-tight”!
Elongating overly-contracted muscles is life changing. The benefits are truly transforming lives and some of my students even say they are “addicted.”
Ahhh… music to my ears!
Here are 2 “ah-ha” stretches for you at the wall! These stretches are really great for those of you who spend a lot of time typing on a computer all day.
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Your kitchen counter is for more than just cooking. In this blog post, I’m sharing with you 2 great kitchen counter stretches for your calf muscles and IT band!
I also share a story about how Assisted Stretching has saved one of my students hundreds of dollars in medical bills!
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Your kitchen sink can change your life… and I don’t mean washing dishes! The height of your kitchen counter is about hip level which makes it like a barre in a studio—perfect for stretches that elongate your upper body, spine, hips, quads, hamstrings, calves, and more!
Here are 2 simple stretches you can do every morning using your kitchen sink.
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“Do people come in here with low back issues?”
A client recently asked me this during a private Assisted Stretching session.
Everyone.
I want to share with you two simple stretches you can do to bring relief to your lower back issues and pain!
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